10 Android apps for back to school

Back to School 2013

Whether a student or the parent of one, that frenzied time just before the start of a school year is here. If your student has an Android phone and/or tablet, that can help keep ahead of studies for even the heaviest of course loads.

Good apps can sometimes make the difference between getting that assignment finished on time or not. This collection of Android apps are designed with the student in mind, and some can be of benefit to everyone.

There are apps in this collection to keep track of assignments and for planning, some for reference, and even one that makes recording lectures nice and easy.

Many of these apps are free, and none of them cost more than a buck or two.

Note that some of these apps are also available for the iPhone/iPad, so multi-platform families can often settle on one app for all.

Studious

This app lets the student get in firm control of the school calendar. It also has a notes section for taking notes and keeping them organized.

One of the coolest features of Studious, which perhaps will be the most important depending on the student, is the ringer killer. The app will automatically silence the ringer of the phone/tablet while in class to avoid embarrassing interruptions.

Dictionary- Merriam Webster

Reference material is king in academia and a good dictionary is at the top of the list. Forget the giant, heavy dictionary of old, this app has the entire tome from Merriam Webster inside.

Searching for the needed information can be done by typing the desired information or by speaking the search term. In addition to definitions you can find synonyms and antonyms in the Dictionary. The app can do something no paper dictionary can do and give spoken pronunciations.

From the publisher:

Features:

* Synonyms & Antonyms

* Voice Search

* Example Sentences

* Audio Pronunciations

* Word of the Day

* Favorites - lets you keep a list of words that are particularly interesting to you

my Homework Student Planner

Keeping up with a busy class schedule can be challenging, but this app makes it easy to keep on top of things. The my Homework Student Planner is an easy-to-use planner that has full class scheduling features.

Assignments can also be tracked and the app leverages the outstanding Android notification system to warn of upcoming events. There is a homework widget to allow keeping track of assignments right from the Android home screen.

Hi-Q MP3 Voice Recorder

Who can blame students who fall asleep in class during those long, boring lectures? Unfortunately, tuning out during the lectures can mean missing important information for exam time. What's a body to do?

The answer is easier than you might think, and this app is what makes it easy. The Hi-Q MP3 Voice Recorder turns the Android phone/tablet into a quality audio system that can record class lectures. The fact is it can record anything due to the high quality format used. If you can hear it, this app can record it for later reference.

Assignment Planner Pro

For those wishing to keep track of assignments, homework, projects, courses, classes and grades, this is a simple app to do it with. Assignment Planner Pro lets the student enter all assignments and coursework, then track it through to completion. Reminders will make sure nothing falls through the cracks for even the heaviest schedule.

In addition to the planning features, this app also track grades and GPA on the fly. No more surprises when grades are handed out at the end of the term.

My Class Schedule

This app is similar to others in this collection in that it is a full-featured scheduler, planner, and reminder. It tracks classes, homework, assignments, and just about anything a busy student needs to stay on top of.

What makes My Class Schedule so nice is the attractive graphical timeline that provides a lot of information at a glance. It makes it easy to keep from over commiting on time, and makes sure nothing important is overlooked.

Evernote

This app isn't just for students but is just as good for them as anyone. Evernote is a cloud-based note app that makes it easy to take notes that include text, audio, photos, and images captured from other apps.

While not a full word processor Evernote includes a rich text editor to handle common formatting to make notes look pretty decent. Users can organize those notes in a variety of ways so the method that works best is at hand.

Since the notes are cloud-based they can be accessed from just about any smartphone or tablet. This is a handy feature for students who often need to refer to notes while running around the campus, even if the iPad is back in the dorm.

Evernote is free with a paid version available for those needing extra storage in the cloud. It works on both Android phones and tablets.

From the developer:

Key Features:

- Works with Evernote Business: Capture, browse, search, and share Business Notes and Business Notebooks from your smartphone or tablet.

10 Android apps for back to school

Summer is drawing to a close and that means getting back to school. Using an Android phone or tablet can help once back on campus and these will certainly do the job.

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Studious

This app lets the student get in firm control of the school calendar. It also has a notes section for taking notes and keeping them organized.

One of the coolest features of Studious, which perhaps will be the most important depending on the student, is the ringer killer. The app will automatically silence the ringer of the phone/tablet while in class to avoid embarrassing interruptions.